Night Moves
by coolminty
Summary: The year was 1976 and I could hear Zeppelin playing everywhere I went, but only because everywhere I went, I went with you. The road to where we were hadn't been a smooth one and it didn't seem as though the one ahead would be any less toilsome. I won't give up, my dear, you can't get rid of me that easily. All my loving goes to you, Mister Sirius Orion Black.
1. Chapter 1

**Night Moves  
Chapter 1  
1971  
**  
Felicia sighed, frustrated as she struggled to keep up with her mother while keeping an eye on their lagging elf, trying his best to keep pace with his mistresses while pushing a cart full of the younger's school things. They were already late and Gibby's lagging wasn't going to get them there any faster. Of course, it would have been much more efficient for Felicia herself to push the cart. After all, it was full of her things, but Claudette Monroe simply refused to let her daughter do "servants' work."

"Feliciana, hurry up, stop dragging your feet!" The girl's mother came back for her, roughly grabbing her daughter's hand and proceeded to all but drag her to the platform.

"But, mother, Gibby-"

"Nevermind that silly elf." Claudette snapped at her daughter, pulling her through the barrier to platform 9 3/4 .

"Now," She patted the girl's head, trying to flatten the same unruly hair that she possessed, "get on the train, I'll wait here for that incompetent creature to get here with you things."

"Yes ma'am," Feliciana nodded, knowing that the few pats on the head were the closest thing to a heartfelt goodbye she was going to receive from her mother, "give my regards to father."

"Of course." The older woman nodded, a proud look on her face, "Go on and find a compartment," she gave her daughter a gentle push towards the train.

Felicia's girl's hazel eyes flickered back once more to her mother. Though she knew this was the last time she would be seeing her mother until Christmas, she couldn't muster an ounce of longing for home or either one of her parents.

Stepping onto the train, she instantly regretted lagging behind with the house elf. All of the compartments seemed to be full of students, chatting about their summers. Finally, she found a nearly empty compartment that held another first year boy, already in uniform. She quickly made her way into the compartment before a group of on coming students could swoop in and fill the seats.

"Excuse me?" The boy looked up upon hearing her polite voice, "may I sit here? Everywhere else seems to be full."

"Uh, yes, of course." He nodded, turning his eyes back down to the book in his lap. After taking a seat across from the pale boy, she realized the book he was reading was in fact one of their school books.

"Are you a muggleborn?" Feliciana tried to ask in what would be a casual kind of way, like how purebloods could so casually call someone a muggle but, by the startled look on his face, she was obviously

"Halfblood." He answered quietly, looking almost ashamed as he turned back down to his book.

"I'm sorry," The dark haired girl tried apologizing, "I didn't mean to be rude." Though the girl came for pureblood herself, she had always been taught to put manners before everything, even if it was towards those whose blood wasn't as pure as hers.

"It's just that I saw you reading one of our school books…"

"Oh," His light eyes went wide, a small bit of red tinting his cheeks, "I was just trying to get ahead." The halfblood quickly shut the book.

"Don't mind me, you can continue your reading." Felicia stated, quite business-like, as she sorted through her shoulder bag, pulling out a copy of the Prophet as well as a pair of very thick reading spectacles. "Before you go back to reading though, could you tell me your name?"

"It's Remus, Remus Lupin." Remus gave her a tight, rather forced looking smile. She wasn't sure if the gesture looked so uncomfortable because of her previous blatancy or because of the long jagged scar running down the side of the boy's face. He was very peculiar, though he seemed polite enough.

"It's very nice to meet you, Remus, I'm Feliciana Monroe," She gave him the sweetest smile, "please do call me Felicia, though." It was crucial for her to gain his trust. He was quite bookish, and probably going to end up being a Ravenclaw. He could be quite useful later on and, despite being a halfblood, Remus seemed polite enough, and felicia was sure he could carry on a decent conversation.

"Hey, Lupin! I thought we told you to save our seats?" The compartment door roughly slid open, revealing three boys, each looking more disheveled than the next in their new school robes.

"Well, she didn't have anywhere else to sit, I was just trying to be nice…" Remus once again stumbled to put his book away, as though he was trying to hide it away from the boys to avoid reliving the embarrassment he had gone through minutes before.

"A girl? Out of everyone, you had to let a girl into our compartment?" Felicia stared, confused at the boy who seemed to be the ring leader of the three trying to enter the cart. He seemed to be the most put together out of the trio, with glossy, black flawless hair and a properly tied necktie.

The next snickering boy in line had messy hair, a loosely tied tie, and a pair of horn-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. His smile was very mischievous, this four eyed wonder was definitely second in command. Of course, he didn't have much competition, with the chubby, red-cheeked boy behind him who seemed to be nothing but a tag-along, helplessly trying to peer around the other two boys.

"Well, at least _Remus_ has manners," She was outraged at the thought that another first year would treat a fellow student in the manner that this young man was treating her. He must have been a filthy muggle, "you know, if you keep strutting around like you own the place, you'll find yourself in Azkaban sooner rather than later."

"Ouhhhhhhhh." The four eyed boy chuckled, earning a punch from the taller boy.

"Shut up, Potter," He seethed, causing his friend's laughter to come to an abrupt stop, "don't think I don't know who you are, Ms Monroe."

"Monroe? Like Marilyn Monroe?" The one behind the Potter boy asked, only to be ignored by the rest of the group.

"You use to play with my cousins." The dark haired boy nodded to her, "You know, my parents said that I should try and get off on a good foot with you, being that our families are known for being close..." Feliciana scrutinized the boy, coming to the conclusion that there was no way this rude idiot came from a noble family.

"Did they?"

"Indeed they did," The boy moved into compartment, arms crossed, as though he was trying to look intimidating, "they also told me to get on well with the Malfoy boy, but it seems as though he didn't like my greeting present very well."

"Oh, don't feel bad Sirius, not everyone appreciates a good dung bomb!" Foureyes gave his friend a pat on the back in passing as he moved to take the corner seat across from Felicia.

"Sirius?"

"Of course we're serious! We bombed a whole compartment of Slytherins!" The Potter boy gave her an outraged look, as though doubting his word was sin.

"No, _Sirius_, Sirius Black? You're a Black?" She screwed up the face, clearly baffled by the realization. The young man standing in front of her definitely harbored all of the trademark features of a Black, but his attitude was complete rubbish.

"Is there a problem Monroe?" Sirius crossed his arms over his chest, scowling at her.

"Not at all," Felicia quickly re-packed her bag and tried to push her way out of the compartment. She had already bitten off more than she could chew, having snapped at a Black, of all people, the way she did. Her mother and father had told her the same thing, to make sure and get along with the other pureblood families, but they didn't tell her that the other children were such ruddy brats.

As a child, Felicia would often play with the other Black children; Narcissa and Bella. Though they were older, and Bellatrix often said that she was 'too old' for such 'childish' games, they got along quite splendidly, just as their mothers did.

This boy, however, seemed to be a whole different story.

"Get outta my way, Black." She tried pushing past him but the stubborn arse seemed to have no intention of moving.

"Why don't you just make- Oof!" At that moment the train lurched forward, causing Felicia to be thrown on top of the rude boy in front of her, and onto the seat. She quickly struggled to get back on her feet and out of the compartment before anyone of the boys could see her blazing cheeks.

"She really made you, mate!" Felicia could hear the young man with the glasses calling behind her as the other two laughed along, then she heard the slamming of the compartment door.

Rude.

The young girl seriously contemplated spending the whole trip in the bathroom. All the compartments were full and Sirius Black had ruined her only attempt at making a friend. She was wandering the halls, hoping to find someone compassionate enough to take pity on an alone first year when she smelt it, the awful stench of a dung bomb. Felicia pinched her nose, about to turn back before she happened upon a compartment containing only two first years.

"Excuse me, may I sit?" She quickly shut the door behind her, hoping to keep out some of the smell. The student closest to her looked as though he would have preferred to have told her to bugger off, though the red headed girl next to him ushered her to take a seat.

"If you can stand the smell," She rolled her striking green eyes, "those idiot boys…"

"Tell me about it…" Felicia unshouldered her bag and decided, probably way too quickly, that she liked this girl already.

"May I ask your names? I'm Felicia." She smiled, keeping the conversation short and chivalrous, not wanting to ruin her chances of making friends again.

"My names Lily, and this is Severus!" Lily returned the girl's smile with plenty of excitement, though the boy beside her remained very emotionless.

"Nice to meet you."

"May I ask what house you want to be in? I'm very curious about it." Lily seemed very eager about the question, though it only seemed to make the boy on her right tense.

"Well, Slytherin, of course…" Felicia trailed off, stopping when she heard Lily's gasp.

"But… You seem so nice."

"Lily…" Severus looked almost relieved now as he spared Felicia a look before he continued talking to his friend, "Slytherin can't be all that bad."

"Well, it's just what the books said… Not a single bad witch or wizard hasn't come from Slytherin." She cast her green eyes downward, avoiding the other student's glances.

"Though there's nothing wrong with reading now and then," Felicia thought back to the boy from earlier, Remus, his face buried in his school book. "you can't get everything you know from books." She pulled her glasses and paper from her bag once more, and began reading, ignoring the fiery looks from the red-head for the rest of the train ride.


	2. Chapter 2

Night Moves  
Chapter 2  
1971

After exiting the train, all first years were ushered towards the lake by a large man with _extremely_ wild hair. The man had to be at least half giant, if not more. Even though he seemed friendly enough, Felicia found him quite intimidating as he directed the students towards the boats with instructions to sit_ 't'ree to a boat! No more, no less!''_

The ginger girl quickly grabbed her friend, sitting the two of them in a boat already containing another first year girl. Lily didn't want to spend a second more with that rude, bushy-headed, brat she so dreadfully had to share her train compartment with.

The bushy-haired girl herself couldn't help but feel a little hurt that Severus and his red headed friend seemed so eager to escape her company. Felicia had tried so desperately to make herself a friend today, but it only seemed as though the harder she tried, the harder she failed...

" 'urry up! Don't wantta get left behin' now, do ya?" A booming, yet affable voice waved her towards the boats. Feliciana briskly jumped into the only empty seat and decided as they sailed, to keep her mouth shut for the rest of the day.

"This must be the black lake!"

"Have you heard about the giant squid?"

"Some say it's actually Godric Gryffindor himself!" Whispers were heard all around, sharing information and excitement between their fellow classmates as parts of the castle gradually peaked out through the fog.

"Hey, Potter, maybe we should feed Monroe here to the squid!" Felicia took her eyes off of the regal sight ahead and looking towards the voice that made the snide remark, only to see the mocking grey eyes of Mr Sirius Black.

"Ehhhh, I don't think she'd be very appetizing." His friend quipped, "She seems a little _bitter_, don't you think?" The boys chuckled loudly, rocking the boat with their laughter. Felicia quickly grabbed for the sides of the boat, afraid that the two idiots would actually cause the boat to tip.

"What? Feeling a little tippy are we?" Sirius braced his own hands on the side of the boat, swaying it back and fourth.

"Stop!" The girl seethed, trying her best to keep balance as Black carelessly rocked the boat.

"Sirius? Don't you mean _tipsy?_ Like, _'Feeling a little tispy?_'" James asked, holding on to the boat and looking quite confused, as if he didn't quite get the joke.

"Oh, shut up James." Sirius stopped, glaring back at themessy haired, four-eyed boy Feliciana now knew as James Potter.

"Well, it's not funny if it doesn't make sense!" James argued, throwing his hands up into the air.

"Does it really matter James? I mean," Sirius turned his gaze back towards the girl behind him, "she fell all over me on the train. Who knows, _Tippy_ could _tip_ at any moment!"

"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard!" She wasn't a klutz! The only reason she fell over was because of the sudden movement of the train, "Is it so awful to believe that not _every_ girl falls over you?" The boy in front of her stopped laughing, giving her a neck-wringing scowl as his friend in the front of the boat laughed harder.

"She's really somethin', innit she mate?" James wiped his eyes, trying to gain some composure as they neared the shore. Black, though, continued shooting Felicia all kinds of dirty looks.

Sirius made no move to leave as the other students left out of the boat and started filing into the castle. He stayed, seated as stiff as a board, not even moving when James waved at him from the shore. Felicia honestly couldn't have cared less if Black stayed in that boat all term, cross and pouting like a child, just as long as she got out of the boat. She wasn't going to miss the whole sorting ceremony because of some childish twit.

"Could you _please-_"

"Don't you dare think this is over!" He snarled, "I will personally make your life in this castle a living hell, Ms Monroe, do you hear me?" His face had inched extremely close to hers in the time that he had been yelling, surely another one of his intimidation tactics, though it didn't seem to frighten the dark haired girl one bit.

"Just who do you think you are?" She stood in the boat, looking down at him, "What are you really? Besides your name and your wealth? You're a rude scoundrel! You, Sirius Black, would be _nothing_ without your name!"

"And how are you any different?!" He stood, causing the boat to sway slightly, though both of the children were too engaged in their argument to care about silly things like balance or gravity.

"Atleast I have a decent attitude!"

"Decent? Your attitude isn't _half_ decent!"

"Hah," She mocked, "you wouldn't know a decent attitude if it came up and kicked you in the arse!"

"Why don't I just kick your arse?!"

The brunette gasped, he was going to hit her! The nerve! Feliciana Marguerite Monroe would die before she let this rude boy run all over her! If he wasn't going to be a gentleman then she definitely wasn't going to be a proper lady. Felicia huffed, gathering all of her strength and pushed Sirius as hard as she could overboard, into the black lake with hopes that the squid was lurking near.

Of course, the pestering boy just had to grab onto her perfectly tied tie, pulling her into the lake along with him. The two of them sputtered to the surface, soaked and flustered, each trying to muster up an insult poetic enough for the aquatic version of their quarrel. Before either could mutter a word, they were interrupted by a shrill voice.

"What is the meaning of this?!" A very angry woman rushed towards them, a crowd of first years lurking close behind her.

"In all my years, I have never! You two get out of the lake this instant!" The drenched students complied, swimming to the bank to stand infront of the rattled woman.

"You two have been at this school for less than an hour and already caused more trouble than most students in their whole school careers!" She shouted, hands on her hips while the students behind her gossiped, as though this was the most scandalous thing they had ever seen.

"Black was going to hit me!"

"She just doesn't know how to keep her big mouth shut!"

"Names, tell me your names!" The shaken woman stepped forward, her wand pointed at the two students.

"B-Black! Sirius Black, ma'am." The boy stuttered, throwing up his hands as he stared down the wand pointed at his face.

"Feliciana Monroe, ma'am." Felicia answered, staring wide eyed at the woman.

"I would have expected more from the two of you, coming from such…" The greying lady seemed to have some trouble finding the appropriate word, "Proper families," The older witch flicked her wand, causing both of the students to flinch, "I'll have to send letters home to both of your families." The two children opened their eyes, half expecting to feel some sort of intense pain, only to find that the outraged woman had magically dried them both.

"Now, if all of you would please go back to the hall." She turned to the group of students behind her, giving them a stern look as a chorus of 'Yes, professor' rung throughout the crowd. Felicia gave the boy beside her one more nasty look before stomping off behind the rest of the students, following them into the Great Hall.

The Professor who found the two students in the lake returned to the front of the hall, holding a list in one hand and an ancient looking hat in the other. She perched a pair of golden spectacles upon her nose before reading the next name off the list.

"Sirius Black."

The dark hair boy pushed his way through the crowd of first years so hastily trying to form an organized line while the rest of the hall became silent. Black took a seat on the stool as the Professor curtly placed the hat atop his head.

"Another Black…" The wrinkled hat came to life, frowning as it spoke to the boy underneath him.

"Mmm, but this one is different! I see loyalty, ambition… Yet so impulsive…" Black narrowed his grey eyes at the hat, thinking up a snappy retort. However, the boy was cut off before he could even voice his insult.

"Gryffindor!" The woman quickly jerked the hat off of the boy, as the rest of the hall went completely silent. Someone from the noble house of Black being sorting in Gryffindor was completely unheard of!

Sirius swallowed hard, looking every bit as confused as everyone else, before standing and making his way towards the Gryffindor table. The students shied away from him as he continued on, walking with his head down. For once, he seemed to hate being the center of attention.

The ceremony continued on, and the houses cheered for their new additions. Remus Lupin and the red headed girl were both sorted into Gryffindor, though Felicia was sure they'd end up in Gryffindor. She couldn't help but question the decisions of the sorting hat.

"Feliciana Monroe." The professor peered at the girl from over the top of her glasses, still cross from their earlier encounter.

The girl herself sighed, nervous about the fate that awaited her, and sat on the stool at the front of the hall. The woman gave her a stern look before placing the hat on top of the girl's dark hair.

"Hmmmmmm, now this one really is interesting.." Felicia tensed, hearing a raspy voice whisper in her ear.

"Strong, very strong personality, but, it's hard to place you…" She swallowed hard, nervous about the hat's decision. For generations, every student with the last name Monroe had been placed in the Slytherin house. Felicia hadn't had a single doubt that she'd end up there, not until she witnessed a Black sorted into Gryffindor.

"Not in Gryffindor…" Felicia mumbled under her breath, her eyes wandering across the hall to land on the faces of Sirius and the Lupin boy.

"Not Gryffindor?" The hat asked, "But you have such a fire in you, young Monroe..."

"No." She said sternly, hoping that the hat actually took her request into consideration.

"Well then, better be… Slytherin!" The hat was plucked from her head as the dark haired girl made her way to the table of cheering students.

"Feliciana! Here! Sit here!" An older girl, who Felicia recognized as Narcissa Black, called her over, clearing a spot for you to sit.

"It's good to see you, dear." The blonde smiled at the younger girl, though it wasn't easy to miss the nervousness in her eyes.

"Hello, Cissy." She wanted so badly to ask what would happen to the girl's cousin, seeing as he didn't make it into Slytherin, but there was a part of her that didn't want to know. Sirius Black was an arrogant little twit, and he'd probably deserve at least half of what he got.

"These are my friends, Elijah Nott, Gretta Goyle, and uh, Miles Avery." The older witch introduced the three students sitting on the other side of the table. Gretta seemed the friendliest, offering the youngest girl and smile while the two boys gave her stiff looks before they continued to watch the sorting.

"This is Mulciber, Gustav Mulciber, and that," She pointed to the boy seated on the opposite side on Felicia, "Is Mister Zambini." The boy seated on the other side of Narcissa seemed to be the youngest out of the group, seeing as he was so gangly and awkward looking. The young witch wasn't going to complain though, she needed all of the friends she could get.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Likewise, Monroe." Zambini spoke, never taking his eyes off of sorting, there were only a few students left and Felicia decided to go on watching ther ceremony as well.

"Severus Snape."

She knew him as the dark haired boy from the compartment who tailed the ginger girl like a lost dog. She half expected him to follow her right into Gryffindor, though with his act, he could make a half decent Hufflepuff.  
"That's Professor McGonagall, by the way." Narcissa whispered into the younger girl's ear, "She teaches Transfigurations and she's also the Gryffindor head of house, you don't want to cross her."

Felicia gulped.

"Oh, please, like you'll ever cause any trouble." The older witch giggled behind her hand.

She really had no idea.

"Slytherin!" The table stood and clapped for their newest addition who was, to Felicia's surprise, Mister Severus Snape.

He stalked over to their table, awkwardly looking for a place to sit. The pale boy was so obviously out of place without his red headed friend that Felicia almost felt sorry for him.

"Severus! Over here!" She waved him over, obviously feelng more than almost sorry.

"Um, thanks." Severus whispered, taking the seat between her and Zambini, "I just didn't know where to- um-"

"Hey," Felicia whispered back, "it's alright. Slytherin isn't that bad, is it?" She gave him a smile, hoping to make him feel more comfortable in his own house so that hopefully, one day, he could actually function properly without his little Gryffindor girlfriend.

"Yeah, I guess." He looked back up to the front of the hall where their headmaster, the famous Albus Dumbledore, started to speak.

"Greetings, and welcome to another year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry…"

-

**Hello! Thank you very much for reading my story! **  
**I've uploaded the second chapter early, but I'll still update as usual on Wednesday. **  
**I hope you're enjoying this so far, and please tell me if you see any errors, I don't have a beta at the moment. **  
**xoxoxox**


	3. Chapter 3

Night Moves  
chapter 3  
1971

Felicia had always thought howlers were a myth, that is, until she received one from her mother on the second day of term. From then on, she made a point to keep out of trouble, especially in her Transfigurations class. She had taken a liking to the subject, mainly because ven Professor Mcgonagall couldn't deny that the girl possessed a natural talent in the subject. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for all of her classes. For some odd reason, Felicia just couldn't grasp the principles behind Potion making.

No matter how hard she tried, her marks were either dreadful. The few times she had gotten an exceptional grade, Severus Snape had taken pity upon her and hissed a few instructions into her ear while Slughorn was busy fawning over Evans' flawless solution. The point was that, unless Felicia wanted another howler, she was going to need some help.

"And so I was wondering if you could- _Severus!_ Severus are you even listening to me?" Felicia had been trying to explain her situation and ask if she could join in on his' study time that he so delightfully shared with little Miss Evans. But the git hadn't even been listening!

"Of course," He turned his eyes down to his plate of eggs, "it's just so hard to pay attention when you take so long to get to the point."

"Well, the point is-"

"The point is," Miles Avery took a seat beside Felicia, looking rather smug, "you should stop staring across the hall at your precious little flower and listen to what the lady has to say."

"Her name is_ Lily_." Severus growled at the older boy, knowing exactly who he was referring to.

"Does it really matter?" The blonde boy rolled his eyes, casually buttering a piece of toast.

Severus stood from the table, causing the bench to go screeching across the floor. The whole hall went silent as he stalked out, except for four snickering Gryffindor boys, that is. Though she usually would have left him alone while he was in such a brooding state, Felicia followed this time. She needed something from him.

"Severus! Where are you going?"

"The library."

"That's actually what I wanted to ask you about!" Felicia finally caught up to the boy, panting slightly as she gathered herself, "I'm a little… Lost in potions."

"You're completely incompetent."

"Severus," She scolded, though she had a smile on her face, "I was wondering if maybe I could… Study with you and Lily this evening?" He stopped abruptly, giving his friend an odd look. Felicia rarely, if ever, called the girl by her given name. Afterall, she was the one who had the bright idea to name her, 'his precious little Lily flower.'

"Seriously?" His beady eyes scrutinized her, "Can I honestly trust you to not start any trouble?"

"_Please_," The dark haired girl huffed, continuing on her way down the corridor, "do you really think I'd ask for help without intending to be on my best behavior?"

"Well…" Severus followed, his brow scrunched in thought, "Only if you're going to behave. One snide remake, and you're on your own." He glared, though his friend only grinned back at him.

"I wouldn't dream of it, my dear Sev."

"D-Don't call me that!" He quickly met her pace, a pinkish tint gracing his pale features.

"And why not?" Felicia gave him a curious look, "We're friends, aren't we? I've told you to call me Ana."

"Boys! Look here! This is adorable!" The two Slytherins quickly turned to find four boys pacing up to them with teasing grins on their faces.

"Don't you have something better to do, _Black?_ I'm sure there are plenty of ways left to tarnish your family name." It was a low blow, but the dark haired girl had yet to forgive the boy for the trouble he'd gotten them into on their first day at Hogwarts.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Sirius stepped closer to the girl with a look in his eyes that could only be described as absolute hate, "Didn't mean to interrupt your date, Tippy."

"It's not a date!" Severus smoldered, his bony hands clenched into firsts by his sides.

"Oh, but wasn't it?" The Potter boy joined in, _"Oh, Sev! Please call me Ana, dearie!"_ He giggled in a girly tone that sounded nothing like Felicia.

_"I can't wait for our library date, Ana!"_ Black chided in a nasally voice as his messy haired friend continued to bat his eyelashes.

Severus gave his friend a sharp look before swiftly heading off down the hall, his cloak flowing behind him. Felicia almost called to him to wait for her, but she knew it would only add fuel to the pestering boys' fire. Thankfully, the clock chimed, signalling that it was time for the students to resume classes.

"Oh, Ana wait up!" A voice called behind her, though she didn't have to turn to see who was calling after her.

"Yeah, Tippy. Slow down, would ya?" Both Potter and Black came around her, slinking their arms around her shoulders.

"Get off of me!"

"Now Ana, we're just making sure that Sevie's girl gets to class alright." Felicia would have smacked James Potter right across the face if it weren't for the fact that Professor Mcgonagall was standing outside her classroom door no less than ten feet away.

"Boys! Please keep your hands off of Miss Monroe!" The woman snapped, glaring at the boys over her spectacles. Felicia escaped the boys as soon as they released her, rushing into the classroom and leaving them to be scolded.

There were a few empty seats on the Slytherin side of the classroom that would have suited Felicia just fine, but after all the grief that Black had caused her that morning, she decided to get a bit of payback, even if it was a bit childish

"Good morning, Peter." She was going to steal Black's seat.

"M-Morning, Tip- uh- Feliciana." Peter Pettigrew was a very pudgy boy who always wore his tie a little too loose for Ana's liking. Though he was part of Sirius' little group, he never said anything particularly offensive to her, he never said much to her at all. The boy simply laughed along with the lot of them until one of his ridiculous pin-striped suspenders would pop off of his trousers.

"Felicia is fine." She flipped her dark hair over her shoulder, looking quite indifferent.

"Oh! F-Felicia, of course, you'll have to forgive-"

"Monroe! Outta my my seat!" Sirius came stalking in, Potter at his heels with a blush tinting the tops of his ears.

"I can sit wherever I please, Black."

"Well you-"

"Mister Black, take the seat beside Mister Lupin and Mister Potter… Why don't you take the seat beside Miss Evans?" Professor Mcgonagall waltzed in, looking particularly cross as she spoke to the two young men.

"Yes, Professor!" James seemed more than content to take the seat beside the ginger girl at the front of the classroom while the other boy begrudgingly plopped down into the desk directly behind Felicia.

"Now, if you would all open your books to page one hundred twenty three and grab a goblet from the cabinet." The professor instructed, "Today, we will be performing the practical part of the exercise."

The students obliged, trying to each grab a goblet in an orderly fashion, through their excitement seemed to get the better of them. Potter and Black were instantly together again, bickering as they pushed through the crowd of students to get their own goblets. Felicia decided it would be opted to wait until the crowd thinned down and, of course, until Black was back in his seat.

When only three students were left in line, she decided the time was right and stood from her seat. That was when she noticed the foot sticking out from underneath the desk behind her, strategically placed to trip her. Though, she pretended not to notice, pushing her chair in neatly and flattening her skirt, going on her merry way to the cabinet.

On the way back, however, the foot was still sitting there. Dressed in the most expensive oxfords, flawlessly polished and without a single scratch. Instead of stepping around the foot, or even over it, she casually stomped on it as hard as she possibly could.

"Merlin's sweet, sweaty bollocks!" Sirius recoiled, holding his leg as he let out a string of curses, causing Lupin to turn a little red in the face.

"Mister Black!" Mcgonagall yelled, "Detention!"

"But, she-"

"Stop trying to blame your misbehavior on Miss Monroe," She gave him an exasperated look, "I will see you in detention this evening, right after dinner."

Felicia didn't cackle or even crack a smile. Later that evening though, while she was lounging in the common room after dinner, she all but cry out of sheer content in knowing that Sirius Black was currently enduring some sort of punishment. To top it all off, the Gryffindor Head of House had actually stood up for a Slytherin over one of her own students.

"Now, let me demonstrate…" The professor continued on with class, interruption free, explaining the incarnation and wand technique to turn a goblet into a common house rat. It seemed like a simple enough exercise, though Felicia had no idea how the spell would actually be useful.

"I would like you all to try, though you shouldn't be disappointed if you aren't successful."

The class started chanting the incarnation, flicking their wands and getting frustrated when nothing happened. A few students seemed to do quite well, namely James Potter, who had a furry whiskered goblet. Felicia got ready to try her own luck, practicing the wand technique a few more times before she deemed herself ready. Just when she was ready to say the incarnation, a sound interrupted her.

_Errk!_

It was a terrible squeaking yet, grinding sound coming from behind her, yet the rest of the class seemed too absorbed in their spellcasting to pay any mind. So, forgetting about the noise, she decide to move on, practicing the incarnation..

_Errrrrk!_

She froze, jerking around to see that nothing behind her looked out of the ordinary at all. What in the world could possibly be making that dreadful noise? Felicia Monroe was certainly not hearing things, there had to be some sort of explanation. Her hazel eyes scanned the room once more when she noticed that Professor Mcgonagall was looking at her expectantly. Sighing, she rid her mind of all things concerning the irksome noise, and began to cast the spell.

"Verto vera!" _Errrrrk!_ "AAH!" Felicia toppled out of her chair as something crashed into her from behind, her spell hitting elsewhere than it's intended target.

"Mister Black!"

"Oh, Tippy, it looks like you've tipped yet again." Sirius Black stood over her, a tantalizing smirk on his face as he pushed his desk back into it's usual spot. The irking sound had been his desk this whole time, inching towards her and then ramming into her.

"Mister Black you have earned yourself a week's worth of detentions!" Mcgonagall helped the girl to her feet, all while scolding the one student who had made her contemplate retirement.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Bertha Jonkins shrilled, directing everyone's attention the back of the classroom. Her brown eyes were wide, and her usually vibrant tanned skin was pale as she raised a shaky hand towards the previous scene.

"T-tail…" One word was all the Ravenclaw could muster before lolling back and falling limp on the floor. Marlene Mckinnon quickly rushed over, shaking her friend as the rest of the class gaped at what she had just pointed out; The ever oblivious Peter Pettigrew.

Of course, Peter wasn't usually anything exuberant to look at. The only thing that stuck out about the boy was his overly large stomach, until now that is, when he had the nose, whiskers and tail of a rat. For a short moment, Felicia was confused as to why he had become deformed.

Was he really so bad at spellcasting that his own spell dejected back at him? Then she remembered, her spell hadn't hit the goblet…

"Bloody hell." James Potter gasped, walking up to his friend with wide eyes and a few small traces of utter amusement playing on his lips. To be honest, he looked rather goofy, though you couldn't blame him. It was hard to decide if the sight was horrifying or hilarious.

"What? What is it?" The pulp boy asked, confused as to why he had become the center of attention.

"Well, mate," James shook his head, letting out a breath of laughter, "at least you've finally gotten your first bit of facial hair."

"What? Where?" `Peter reached up to feel his face, though the amazement in his features quickly turned to one of horror as his fingers stroked over grey fur and long, wiry whiskers.

"Ohhhhhh my Merlin!" He fell to his knees, sobbing as his friends howled with laughter, "She's ruined me! I knew having her sit beside me would be nothing but trouble!" Peter all but crawled to Professor Mcgonagall's feet, clinging to her skirt.

"Potter! Escort Mister Pettigrew to Madam Pomfrey immediately." The Professor ripped herself away from the boy, hastily retrieving a small vial from her cabinet, "Take this with you and please hurry." James scraped his furry little friend off of the floor, grinning like it was Christmas as he rushed them out the door.

"Can't you turn him back, Professor?" Remus spoke up, looking as though he was the only one of three worried for his friend.

"No," The woman answered, "with transformations like this, it's very difficult and very dangerous to simple try and change them back. There's a process."

"I see…"

"I think that's enough for today's lesson," Mcgonagall swallowed, looking quite frazzled, "we're through for today."

The class put away their materials and returned to their seats, chatting excitedly about the most exciting class they'd ever had. Felicia, on the other hand, sat very quietly, and remained very quiet for the rest of the day. Most people seemed to be very afraid that she'd give them a tail if they said the wrong thing.

**Thank you so much for reading and thank you to my lovely reviewers for the positive feedback!  
I hope you all had a lovely Valentines, enjoy and don't be afraid to make suggestions!  
xoxo**


	4. Chapter 4

Night Moves  
Chapter 4  
1971

Christmas time in the castle was _simply _magical.

The Monroe family hadn't been one to indulged in the yuletide holidays simply because it was one centered around _a silly muggle belief._ There wasn't a tree, tinsel, or the smell of cinnamon drifting through the air. Though her family did have a feast and exchange gifts on December twenty fifth, it was nothing compared to any day of December spent at Hogwarts.

Snow littered the scenery outside the castle, calling for snowball fights and many obnoxious sweaters to be worn. The Great Hall looked simply divine with a large, decorated cedar standing in the middle of it all. Instead of pumpkin juice, everyone drank the most delicious hot chocolate at every meal. Narcissa would always stick a candy cane in Felicia's before she arrived, knowing her little friend's love of minty thing.

The dark haired girl would return the favor by spending the evening with Narcissa in the common room, having a chat over tea. Felicia would write a short letter to her mother, though she knew she'd never get a reply, and a small studying session before falling into a peaceful slumber. December was a pleasant time in the castle for Feliciana Monroe.

Sirius Black, on the other hand, was having the worst time of his life. He'd had detentions with Professor Mcgonagall every evening after dinner since the fifth week of term and now he was going to have detentions with Professor Slughorn on Saturdays because of a recent event involving a mix up between real slugs and jelly slugs. His mother had been sending him howlers daily, ranting about his potions marks, bad behavior, and _I heard you were __**friends**_ _with a __**mudblood **__boy!?_

The end of first term was approaching, and everyone's mind was on their grades. The usually empty library was bustling with students trying their best to cram as much information into their brains as possible. Even the first year Gryffindor boys who had become known as the biggest troublemakers since the Prewett twins were trying their best to study. All except one, that is, one Sirius Orion Black.

His mind was on more important things, namely the approaching Christmas holidays. He _should_ be excited, like most of his classmates, to go home and spend some time with his family. However, he was everything but exciting about going home. The only slight enjoyment he was would get of out these holidays would be seeing his little brother, Regulus. Though he knew the two of them could only get a long a short while before wanting to rip each others' hair out.

"Mate! _Mate?_ What are you on about?" James whistled, gaining his best friend's attention. They were seated in a circle around the coffee table in the common room, books spread all around as they tried their hardest to study.

"It's nothing," He shook his head, "I was just thinking about the holidays."

"Well," Remus sharply grabbed their attention as he scribbled onto his parchment, "you can think about what a dandy time you and your family are going to have later. Right now, you need to focus." The boy was very stressed, running his hands through his sandy colored hair every few minutes, biting his nails, and once again he looked very ill.

It was like he got sick every month.

"Don't get your cardigan in a twist, Remus, we've been on it for a good while now. Give us a break!" The boy threw off his glasses, smirking as he ignored the pale boy's begrudging agreement.

"Any holiday plans, boys?" James clapped his hands together, rubbing them together in a devious manner.

"Not really… Mum is fixing her her roast again this year… I bet Sirius will have the best time. out of all of us." Peter looked to his pureblood friend with admiration, as he always did, expecting him to burst out with boisterous tails of holidays past.

"Well, actually…" He trailed off, swallowing a lump in his throat as his friends pleaded for him to spill the details.

"Oh, come on! Tell us mate!"

"Yeah, you have to tell us, Sirius!"

"I hate it there." Sirius answered, looking anywhere but at his friends, "It's never fun, it's never exciting. I hate it and I don't want to go." The group went quiet, half expecting their friend to burst out into laughter and half feeling incredibly sorry for their friend.

"Mate…" James said quietly, "Don't go. You don't have to go. Stay here, at the castle it'll be fine."

"I'm… I'm staying." Remus spoke up quietly, "I, um… I figured I could get an early start on my work for next semester, maybe then I wouldn't be so bugged out at the end of term."

"I'll stay too then! Mum will understand. It'll be the best time, boys. We'll have the whole castle to ourselves!" The Potter boy was beaming, thinking of the antics th four of them could get up to when no one was around.

"Well if you're all staying, then I am too!" Peter chided, not wanting to be left out of the fun.

"I can't…" Sirius sighed, causing James' soaring feelings to plummet right into the ground, "My Mum will be so mad…"

"Isn't she already?" James threw his glasses back onto his face, "I'm writing my mum now, we're staying mate. You're gonna have the best Christmas of your life."

Sirius looked at the three boys sitting around him and couldn't help but feel love for every single one of them, but especially his little four eyed friend. His whole life he'd been told that halfbloods and muggleborns were awful and foul beings. The ones he knew, however, we some of the kindest people on the face of the earth. They were becoming more of a family to him than his own family had ever been.

"I guess there's not much I can do about it then…" He smirked, watching as James' eyes lit up behind his glasses before he was tackled to the ground in a hug.

"We're going to have the _best _time! I promise you!" James clutched onto his bestfriend, the other boys cackling until they were pulled into the hug as well.

"Boys, _please…" _Remus chuckled, trying his best wiggle out of the heap.

"_Please_ what, my dear Remus?"

"I love you guys," Sirius wheezed from the bottom of the pile, "but I can't _breath_."

"I guess you could say our love _takes your breath away."_ James said wistfully, standing from the pile and helping a groaning Remus to his feet.

"James Potter, you are a bloody idiot."

The next week was filled with final projects, gift exchanging between friends, and a weekend at Hogsmeade. For the first time, Sirius was really indulging in the Christmas spirit. Instead of using this Hogsmeade trip to oggle at quidditch gear and Zonkos products with his mates, he went out and did a bit of Christmas shopping.

For Remus, he'd gotten a lovely seasonal cardigan, though he was almost sure it was too large for the skinny boy, he knew Remus wouldn't be able to resist a finely knitted cardigan. James was the hardest to shop for. The boy meant so much to Sirius, and it was so difficult to find something that would be a suitable present. He ended up buying James his very own golden snitch for his obsessive love of quidditch. Peter was the easiest to shop for, of course; The boy loved anything from Honeydukes.

Sirius had even gone out and bought something to repay Professor Mcgonagall for all the grief he had caused her. On the the first day of term, she had surprised all of the students by showing off her animagus form; a grey tabby cat. He could remember being completely amazed by the magic, and couldn't help buying his teacher a lovely cat figurine for her desk.

He knew that his 'Christmas spirit' had gone too far when he contemplated buying something for Feliciana. For a moment, he almost felt bad for taking such foul shots at her, then he recalled the way she would always fire back just as fierce, and never take the blame for the mess they made. _No_, he thought, _I don't owe her anything_. So he finished up, returning to the castle to wrap his presents before hiding them away in his trunk.

Felicia was feeling extremely generous this Christmas season. Ontop of buying Narcissa, Severus, and even Lily Evans each a present, she also took the time to pick out four boxes of the most expensive chocolates available. She had a specially crafted plan for the boxes that related to the other gifts she'd purchased, especially Severus' present.

"You want me to… _What?"_ He glared down his hooked nose at the girl standing before him.

"It'll be perfect, they won't suspect you at all, I promise." Felicia pleaded, hoping the boy would give in and help her.

"You've bribed me…" His brown eyes shifted down to the gift he'd just received from the outrageous girl, a shiney new advanced potions book.

"No," She insisted, "I've just made it easy for you. See, the book contains all of the potions needed for our little escapade."

The dark haired boy pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut as he questioned just how he even got involved with the irksome brunette. Feliciana Monroe was honestly more trouble than she was worth.

"Alright…" He begrudgingly gave in, causing the girl's hazel eyes to light up with excitement.

"Wonderful! Here's what we need to do…"

The first thing the boys did upon having the whole castle to themselves was run outside into the frigid air and have a free for all snowball fight. Sirius and James both wanted teams, of course, but Peter whined and moaned until the boys finally just started throwing snowballs at everyone in sight. No one was safe, not even the half-giant groundskeeper.

"Watch it there, you could 'urt each other! Aye!" Hagrid came out of his hut, worried that someone may get hurt in their little snow war, only to be hit right in the beard with a snowball. He grumbled, balling up a giant wad of snow and aiming it at a running Mister Black.

"Hagrid! Please, no! It was James!" He kept running until he reached the edge of the forest, where he stopped, panting as he leaned against a tree. The groundskeeper ignored his pleas, throwing the enormous snowball towards and hitting the tree above directly above him, covering Sirius in a mound of snow. He popped his head out of the heap, was wide eyed, panting, and fearing for his life, but the giant his friends only chuckled at his bewildered expression.

"Now, why don't you all come in fer some tea and dry 'urselves, huh? We can't have ya running back ta' the castle all soaked." Hagrid smiled as the boys greed, hosting his own little tea party in his warm hut.

They made pleasant conversations, talking about everything from the snow gracing the school grounds to Hagrid's newest pet, a little wrinkly faced pup who James voted to name Fang, insisting that he would one day be a ferocious beast. Sirius seemed to be especially drawn to the animal, having never been close to a dog before. His mother wouldn't have her children _running about with those filthy, flea-ridden creatures. _

Sirius was really starting to realize just what a drag his mother was.

The rest of the holidays continued in a similar fashion; snowball fights, tea time with Hagrid, and exploring the empty castle in search for 'secret passageways' mentioned by the Prewett brothers. Though Remus and Peter were both sure that the twins were feeding them nonsense, the other half of the group was determine to prove their existence. After almost a week of searching, their efforts paid off.

James accidentally ran into a shortcut to the kitchens, jokingly tickling the pear on a portrait near the Hufflepuff dormitories and Sirius discovered another leading to Honeydukes cellar near the one eyed witch statue. Though the latter was their favorite, it turned out to be somewhat of a devil in disguise.

"I think I'm drunk off of liquorice wands." Sirius laid flat on the floor of the common room, candy wrappers surrounding him and his three best friends. .

"Just 'cause it has the word 'liquor' in it doesn't mean you can get drunk offa' it," James mumbled from next to him, squinting at his friend at he popped another Berty Bott's Bean into his mouth, "ya bloody nutter."

"Is there any chocolate left, Remus?" Peter asked in a dreamy tone. If any of the four was intoxicated off of the amount of sweets they consumed, it was the boy who had his stomach so full that his suspenders on longer latched onto his pants.

The thin boy said nothing, he simply slapped the remainder of his chocolate bar into Peter's stubby hand, glad to be rid of it once and for all. At the begining of the night, the boys thought it'd be a good idea to treat themselves to a plether of confections, even some that none of the children had even heard of. However, it was the wee hours of the morning and they were greatly regretting their choices.

They laid in silence for a while, their thoughts all drifting off to different places. Peter's mind was on the half eaten candy bar in his hand, while the previous owner of the chocolate thought about the moon. James thought about his parents, and he almost wished for a second that he would've gone home for the holiday, but he was glad he didn't and he was glad Sirius hadn't gone home either.

"Sirius?"

"Yeah, mate?"

"What's ya middle name?" James turned to face his confused friend, a goofy smile on his face.

"It's… Orion." Sirius' brow scrunched in confusion as his four-eyed friend grinned wider.

"_Onion?_ Sirius _Onion_ Black?" James mocked, as though he hadn't heard him, making the other two boys breakout into giggles.

"_Orion,"_ He stressed, "what's your middle name anyways?" The messy haired boy instantly stopped snickering, swallowing down his nervousness before answering.

"Harold."

"Harold!?" Sirius barked, laughing along with his other friends, "Your middle name is Harold and you were making fun of Orion?"

"Alright, _alright_," James sighed, making an effort to change to topic, "Peter, how's it feel to have a tail?"

"James! You said we weren't gonna talk about it!"

"Oh, don't be dramatic. It couldn't have been that bad."

"James, the poor boy squeals everytime he sees Felicia in the hallway." Remus smirked without even opening his eyes, his tiredness getting the better of him.

"You can't blame him can you?" The grey eyed boy shrugged, "She's right hideous. I'll bet she's part banshee."

"Please," James rolled his eyes, "she's not _that _awful."

"She turned me into a _rat!_"

"Well, not really, you only had the whiskers and the tail and-"

"_Boys_." Four heads turned to see Professor Mcgonagall standing right outside the portrait hole, staring incredulously at her four first year students, gossiping whilst covered in candy wrappers.

"I was going to wish you all a Happy Christmas, but by the looks of it, you're already having one." Though her large, brown eyes were still wide and astonished looking, she had the most content smile that any of the boys had ever seen grace her features.

"I believe presents have been delivered to your dormitory, Happy Christmas boys."

The four instantly sprung up, running to their dorms at the word 'presents' as Mcgonagall turned to leave the common room, though he didn't miss the shouts of 'Happy Christmas, Professor!'

Each of the boys attacked the stack of gifs on their beds, Sirius was especially surprised to see that he had so many. His mother had sent him an owl, saying he wouldn't recieve a single gift if he stayed at school over the holidays. He picked up the first package, inspecting the neat handwriting that graced the label.

_**To: James' little friend  
From: Mr &amp; Mrs Potter  
Merry Christmas x**_

"James… Your parents sent me something?" He squinted at the label, wondering if maybe he'd read it wrong.

"Huh?" The boy looked up from unwrapping what looked to be an article of clothing, "Oh, yeah, Mum mentioned something about that." He returned to his destruction of the parcel.

Sirius tore into the neatly wrapped gift, being extremely careful, he pulled out something made of soft, grey-knit fabric. Unfolding it, he realized that it was a sweater with a 'SB' on the front. He never wore sweaters, they were nerdy and often itchy, this one though, he would make an exception for.

"Mum knitted you that. We all have one," James smiled warmly as his friend stared at the piece of clothing, "It's charmed so that you'll never grow out of it so that you'll have it _forever." _He whispered the last word of his sentence, his eyes bugging out slightly in an attempt at humor, but Sirius didn't laugh. He was too busy pulling the cozy grey sweater over his head.

"It's perfect."

"I'll have to tell that." The four eyed boy nodded to his best friend, glad that he could make him feel some sort of family-love during the holidays.

"Um… Guys?" Peter's unsure voice broke the comfortable silence between the two best friends.

"Did anyone else get a parcel from… From F-Felica?" The four of them exchanged confused looks, examining the lovely little pink box tied with a red lace ribbon in Peter's hand before each rifling through their own piles and finding an identical box.

"I'm not opening it." Sirius gently set his back down on the bed, glaring at it with his steely eyes while James inspected his own box, shaking it and listening to the rattling inside.

"It doesn't sound like a dungbomb…"

"Remus, what are you doing!" The long haired boy rushed over, trying to grab the box out of his friend's hands.

"I'm opening it, what does it look like I'm doing?" He swatted Sirius away and continued unwrapping the present.

"Well, don't do it in here! We sleep in here!" Sirius backed away, putting his hands out as Remus lifted the top off of the elegant gold box.

"Oh!" His eyes lit up upon seeing the contents of the box, causing the other three to rush over, curious as to what was inside.

"Chocolates?"

"Not just _chocolates,"_ Remus scolded, "these are the _best_ chocolates money can buy."

"Well… Then… Why did she give them to us?" James squinted, eyeing the chocolates as though they themselves would blurt out the answer.

"Is it so hard to believe that she isn't completely horrible? I'm sure she feels awful for what she did to Peter and now, she's just trying to send her condolences." The wise boy shrugged, as he contemplated which of the delicious chocolates he was going to consume first.

"Why would she send them to the rest of us then?" Sirius examined his own box, "Why not just Peter?"

"Why did she give Lily Evans a box of Sugar Quills?" The messy haired boy pulled the ribbon on his own box, untying it and beginning to rip through the pastel paper.  
**  
**"Because, as I've said before, she's not _evil _and you're a bunch of bloody idiots." Remus sighed before popping the first chocolate into his mouth, closing his eyes as he savored the flavor.

"Oh Remus, you hurt me." James smiled, picking out one of the beautiful chocolates and biting into it. Peter began nervously unwrapping his chocolates as well, seeing as Remus hadn't dropped dead just yet and he just couldn't resist any food.

Sirius didn't want to give in, he knew just how much Feliciana Monroe had it in for him and he knew that they were far from even. He didn't even like chocolates that much, anyways. Eventually, his curiosity got the best of him and he was indulging in the best chocolates he'd eaten in entire life.

"Oh my Merlin. You weren't lying, Remus." They were caramel filled, made of the perfect tasting dark chocolate. Not too sweet, not too bitter; They were flawless. Soon, they'd finished off their boxes of chocolates and continued opening presents.

The boys loved each of their presents from Sirius, especially James to almost shrieked with joy when he opened the package to find a golden snitch. Sirius had a similar reaction to the gift he received from James, a an odd muggle contraption that was completely captivating.

"What is it?" He laughed, pulling the small black object from the box.

"The muggles call it a switchblade," James stopped watching his snitch for a moment to show Sirius how to work the knife.

"See, you just flip it and," _Flick! _The blade swung open, gleaming in the light as the Black gawked at it.  
_  
_"_Woah…" _He grinned, carefully grabbing the knife.

"Yeah, my dad, uh-" James paused to burp, "He, um-" He let out a huge blech, and just as he went to excuse himself, another came boistering out of him.

"James, _please._"

"I can't-" _Bwaaarrrp._ "Stop-" _Bwaaaarrppp_, "Burping!"

"What?" Remus put down his new book, giving James a concerned look as he moved to pat him on the back in an effort to help.

"James, what are you- Ugh." Nausea hit Sirius as soon as he stood, he held onto the bed post of balance, unsure of weather he was going to faint or vomit. It quickly became clear to him which was going to happen as he felt bile rise up in his throat. He dropped the knife onto his bed and rushed to the bathroom to spill his guts into the toilet with one thought in his mind.  
_  
Stay away from chocolates and Feliciana Monroe._

**Hello! Thank you all so much for reading. **  
**For some reason, this chapter was particularly hard to write, it just didn't want to come out. **  
**Please tell me if you notice any errors and enjoy! **  
**ALSO! I've put up a blog for this story that you can get to by going on my profile.**  
**xoxo**


	5. Chapter 5

Night Moves  
Chapter 5  
1972

The end of term was less than two weeks away and Feliciana had never been more exhausted in her young life. If she wasn't sleeping, she was studying; a failing grade would not be taken lightly at the Monroe house.

She'd just awoken from her afternoon nap to realized that she'd once again missed dinner and it was past time to be meeting Severus and his Lily flower in the library. Felicia threw on her cardigan, not bothering to look in the mirror, and grabbed her bag before headed down the stairs and into the common room

"Ana, darling, why don't you join us for some tea?" The bushy haired girl stopped, wobbling at the bottom of the stairs to see Narcissa and her usual group of friends seated around the common room.

"Thank you, Cissy, but I'm afraid I have to head to the library." She pushed a bit of hair out of her eyes and watched as Narcissa's kind demeanor changed very quickly.

"Young lady, you _will_ sit down and you _will_ have some tea," The older witch had a stern voice that reminded Felicia a little too much of her own mother, "you've been studying more than enough, I think you can allow yourself a break."

Felicia sighed, placing books on a nearby table and sitting herself down on the couch between her blonde friend and the brunette known as Gretta Goyle. Honestly, she didn't want tea and she didn't feel particularly chatty, but Narcissa had a motherly authority within her that could be impossible to ignore.

Around the room sat the older girl's usual group of friends, each with a mug of tea in hand. Narcissa delicately levitated a cup over to the bushy haired girl, giving her a small smile before her glittering eyes drifted up towards the nest that was Felicia's hair.

"Oh, darling," She worriedly tried to pat down the frizz, "we're going to have to do something with this hair of yours…"

"Leave the poor girl alone, she's been working herself to death." Zambini came to Felicia's rescue, as he often did when an older student caused her grief, "Your hair looks fine, young Monroe."

"_Please,_ she looks like a lion." Miles Avery reached over to touch the fluffle, only to have his hand slapped away.

"_Miles._" Narcissa glared down the younger boy.

"Why don't you join us more often, Felicia?" Miles said after a moment of rubbing his hand, "I'd like to think we're more worthy of your time than those _mudbloods._"

"Yes," The blonde girl nodded, "as I said before, you're always welcome to spend time with us, dear."

"Why do you lag around with those mudbloods away?" Gustav Mulciber finally spoke up from his seat beside the quiet Knott boy, his brown eyes giving her a testing look.

"Well," She tried to swallow her nervousness, "they help me with potions…"

Mulciber seemed to think about it, scrutinizing her face to try and pick out a lie, though there wasn't one. The two students _did _indeed help her with potions, Severus especially, but she couldn't admit that she actually enjoyed spending time with him. If her mother found out she was friends with a mudblood…

Well, she'd know exactly what Sirius Black was going through.

"Severus is a Slytherin anyways," She shrugged, "I don't see the difference…"

"You think he's one of us?" The curly haired boy sat down his mug, giving Ana a very scary look, "_Really?" _He stood from his stop on the sofa, looking quite intimidating.

"Mulciber please, sit down." Narcissa grabbed ahold of her young friends' hand, "She doesn't know any better." _  
_  
"Cissy, what about your cousin? The one in Gryffindor?" Felicia quickly changed the subject, hoping to divert the attention away from her at Narcissa's expense.

"Um-, well..." The girl stumbled, looking quite nervous, "I don't really-"

"The tea was wonderful." Felicia leapt up from the couch, placing her untouched tea down on the table, "Thank you so much for letting me join you, I think I'll be off now."

"Anytime, Ana." The blonde girl nodded as her friend left the room, though her cheeks were still tinted pink from Felicia's rather bold remark. Gretta Goyle glared after the bouncing first year, mumbling as she rubbed Narcissa's shoulder.

"What a _rude _girl."

"_Turn to page 394." _Was the greeting Felicia received from Severus after previously trying to defend his honour at the common room tea party. That, of course, was when she noticed that her books had been left at said party.

"I don't have my books."

"Well, tough luck."

"Just let me borrow yours."

"_No_, I need-"

"Shhhh!" Lily Evans scolded them, making a point to give Felicia an especially nasty look.

"_Fine."_ Severus pushed his potions book in front of his irritating friend, instructing her to read the section before starting her essay on the effects of adding the powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood.

As always, she took the seat farthest away from a certain red head and tried her best to concentrate on the reading. It rather boring of course. The reading itself could've put her asleep faster than the _Draught of Living Death_ itself. However, the sound of laughter from a few rows ahead did a very lovely job of keeping her awake and _distracted._

"Those idiot boys." Lily huffed, scribbling onto her parchment with enough force to punch a hole right through the middle.  
_  
_"_Ugh!" _

"Lily, calm down. There's no reason to get riled up over a group of imbeciles." Severus drawled in a calm voice, not once looking up from his own piece of parchment.

"What's so funny, anyways? They're giggling like a bunch of little girls." Lily's green eyes glared up at the group of boys, chattering away over what seemed to be a simple piece of parchment.

"Maybe their potions essay is more exciting than ours." Felicia offered, looking up and scrutinizing the boys as well. Hints of a smile lit up the red head's features, though it quickly disappeared when she realized that _Monroe _was the one who told the joke.

"I doubt the better half of them know _how _to write an essay." Lily's snappy remark made Felicia crack a smile. If Lily flower and Felicia had anything in common, it was concerning their views on four first-year Gryffindor boys.

"Have you finished your reading, Felicia?" Severus gave her a very expectant look, causing the smile to slip from her face.

"Actually, I was wondering if you could explain-"

"I can't," The boy slid the potions book away from Felicia, "I need my book back."

"But I'm not done, Sev!"

"Well, I'm not the one who forgot my book!" They whispered back and forth until Lily shushed them once again.

"You two are being childish. Monroe, come with me, I'll get you a ruddy book." She stood from the table, her eyes flickering back and forth between the two bickering Slytheri.

Felicia silently followed the exasperated girl, scolding herself for being careless enough to leave her books in the common room. Finally, Lily stopped at a shelf not far from where the giggling boys were, scanning the spines for the proper title. Her eyes kept drifting higher and higher until they finally found the book, far above arms' reach.

"Rats." The redhead sighed, staring up at the book while Felicia smirked beside her, remembering a certain transfiguration incident, though the smug look on her face disappeared when the other girl glanced her way.

"Um," She cleared her throat, "why don't we just levitate it?"

"Exactly what I was thinking." The Gryffindor turned back towards the shelf, "Do you have your wand, or is it in the same place as your books?" Her reply was a little too snappish for Felicia's liking, though she decided to keep her retorts to herself. She needed help with her studies now more than ever.

"I've got it." She pulled her wand from her knee high socks, earning a disgusted look from the Evans girl.

"Wingardium leviosa!" The book gracefully floated in the air, hovered down towards the two girls when it seemed to lag in the air, shaking slightly.

"What are you doing?" Lily stared, confused as to what the other girl was trying to do.

"It's not me!" Felicia answered, "It's stuck." She struggled, moving her wand every which way to try and move the book.

"Wingardium Leviosa," The redhead flicked her wand, "now, release your spell."

"No," Felicia glared at the Gryffindor girl, "I'm fully capable of doing it myself, _Evans._"

"And you're doing a splendid job, aren't you _Monroe?_" She backed away a few steps, attempting to pull the book away from Felicia.

"Stop it, _Evans_, all you're doing is making things more difficult." The dark haired girl refused to give in. Though the book was shaking from being pulled two separate directions, it still didn't budge from it's spot in the air.

"I'm _trying_ to help." Lily grit her teeth, pulling back harder.

"Well don't, _mudblood._" Felicia spat at the girl, though she instantly regretted her words when she saw the effect they had on her. The redhead seemed to freeze, her green eyes glossing over, though the fire never left them.

"Fine." She released her spell and turned to storm out of the library before she could see the destruction her action had caused.

The levitating book magically dislodged itself, knocking the Slytherin girl back into a nearby book shelf, causing it to teeter every so slightly. Felicia watched in horror as the shelf tipped back and forth until it finally settled itself and the girl sat on the floor, unscaved. She sighed in relief, happy that to live another day and picked up the book that had caused so much grief.

Now that she'd angered Lily, there was no chance that Severus would even think about helping her and it'd be best if she'd just finish her essay in the common room. The book levitated back into it's spot on the shelf with ease, making Felicia stare at it with a rather confundled look. Just what in Merlin's name had made it so difficult the last time?

She brushed off all thoughts of waverly potions books and turned to head out of the library when something hit her in the back of the head.

_Thump._

"What the bloody hell…" The girl held onto the back of her head as it throbbed with pain, whipping around to see that the potions book had miraculously fallen and thunked her right on the head. She was very tempted to leave the book lying there on the library floor, but against her better judgement, she pulled out her wand to cast the spell.

"Wingardium levi-oh! _Eep!_" Felicia yelped, backing away as the potions book started snapping towards her. After a few steps, she toppled into the bookshelf behind her, causing more books to rain down into the aisle. They snapped at her, pulling at her bushy hair and pinching her tender skin as she shrieked in horror.

"Depulso!" She went on a whim, trying a spell known as the opposite of the summoning charm, and lucky for her, it worked. The ravenous books cleared back just enough for her to escape out into the main hall of the library.

"_Pffffffffffftt!" _She turned momentarily to see four Gryffindor boys, all of them trying their hardest not to burst out laughter. Felicia had half a mind to hex them all in the middle of the library, though the sound of rifling paper growing closer made her reconsider. After throwing them a dirty look, she took off, sprinting as fast as her twiggy legs would carry her out of the library_  
_  
"Misses Monroe! Why are you running- Oh _what on earth!?"_ Madam Pince screeched, frozen as she watched the wide-eyed girl run out of the library. The monstrous books were fluttering all around, snapping at everyone and everything in sight, some of them even following the girl out of the library.

"All of you, get out! Now!" Madam Pince was furious, pacing around the library with eyes set to kill. By now, numerous shelves had been emptied, the books that once set so beautifully were now flying around the library in ravenous packs.

The students ran, many opting to leave their belongings and escape with their lives. As the library emptied and the shrieks died down, one sound became more and more prominent. It wasn't the slamming of books or the librarian's angry growls, cursing whoever did this to her precious library; It was the sound of four boys, crying with laughter and applauding their marvelous work.

**Thank you for reading! **  
**I apologize for the shortness, I've come down with this nasty cold and I don't feel up to doing much of anything. **  
**I hope you all enjoyed first year, (yes, this is the end of it!) second year will be just as mischievous**  
**Reminder! There's a link to this stories blog up on my profile! **  
**xoxo**


	6. Chapter 6

Night Moves  
Chapter 6  
1972

It was morning and Felicia laid awake in her bed, squinting up at the pale ceiling and wondering why in Merlin's name she couldn't sleep soundly in her own home. For a moment, she thought back to being younger, when her father would gently tuck her in bed and she almost drifted off into sleep. Then, a magical popping noise disturbed her serene facade.

"Young M-Mistress, your presence is r-requested in the l-library." Gibby stuttered, the tray of morning tea in his hands rattling as he approached the sleeping girl.

"By who?" She sat up, squinting her puffy eyes at the house elf.

"E-eh, Mistress M-Monroe, m'lady." The elf dropped the tray onto the bedside table, shying away from the drowsy girl.

"Very well," Felicia waved him away, "I'll be down in a moment." She sighed, falling back into her mound of pillows while the elf popped away.

Felicia blew a few strands of dark hair away from her face, turning her head to gaze out of the bedroom window. Birds were chirping, hopping from limb to limb while the sun shined bright in the sky, causing streamers of light to burst into feliciana's bedroom. Summertime was supposed to feel so lighthearted and sweet, but somehow the groggy girl lay untouched by the joyful air.

She sighed once more before rolling out of bed and getting dressed for the day, choosing to wear one of the outfits her mother had bought her as a returning home present. That seemed to be the only way her parents could show her affection nowadays; by showering her with gifts. The girl undressed, ignoring the mirror to refrain from being reminded of her sharp collarbones and pointy shoulders.

Felicia had gotten terribly skinny over the last month of school, and her eating habits hadn't improved much since her return home. Aside from her prominent weight issues, the child couldn't stop shaking. Returning home had only caused anxiety to consume her, even more so than last few weeks of term. Any small noise made her jump, hair whipping around to see what had caused the ruckus.

"_An O_ in Transfiguration," Claudette Monroe had sat her daughter down in the library, pacing around the room with an official looking scroll in hand.

"_E_ in Defense Against the Dark Arts," The child's eyes flicked up to meet her mother's critical gaze, "as well as an _E _in Herbology…"

"Potions…" She came to a halt, "_A." _Felicia gulped, looking down to her clammy hands as she waited for her mother to continue.

"How do you expect to get into a fine wizarding university with _A's_, Feliciana?" The woman gave her daughter an outraged look, "And will you _please _look at me while I'm talking to you!" _  
_  
"Yes, mother." She looked up from her lap, hazel eyes glossy with tears as they eyed her disappointed mother.

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I," Felicia's voice cracked, "I'll do better next time…"

"Hmph," The woman stiffly folded the parchment, "you'll make sure that you do. I want all of your marks looking like your Transfiguration scores."

"Yes, mother."

"You're dismissed."

The child nodded, calmly exiting the library. She walked the marble halls, feeling the disgraced glances of her ancestors, staring down at her from inside their golden frames and all of a sudden, Felicia felt as though it was impossible to breathe inside the spacious home.

Her moping became very brisk, determine walk. Sharply turning corners and ignoring her surroundings as she slowly accelerated. First into a jog, then into a full sprint, the heels of her shoes violently clapping against the floor. She ran as fast as her legs would would carry her, down the marble halls and out the back door into the large garden behind the mansion.

Felicia kept running, tears falling down her cheeks until she finally crashed to the ground, clinging to the perfectly trimmed grass as her body trembled with sobs. She scowled as her bony hands pulled grass from the earth, throwing it and standing with gritted teeth. It was so frustrating for the girl to feel so homesick while at her own home

She found herself climbing over the magically locked garden gates, still hiccuping from her crying fit as she stood at the top of the gate, overlooking the muggle town she'd never been allowed to step foot into. For a moment, Felicia felt completely juvenile; sneaking out for being upset over something so petty, but she _was _juvenile and she had every right to be dramatic over something so small.

So, the girl clammered over, catching one of her stockings on the way down. Felicia scowled at the run as she slipped off her shoes, shedding her ripped tights on the ground and continued on her adventure with intentions to return home before dinner.

On the outskirts of town, she stopped, reviewing her actions. She wasn't going into town because she was genuinely curious. No, of course not, that would be outrageous. The only reason she was wandering into the muggle city was to spite her mother.

"Watch where you're walking, girl!" Felicia was pulled by her collar by a nagging old woman, just as an odd looking four-wheel contraption sped past her.

"Goodness child, where are your parents?" The woman grabbed ahold of her arm as her beady eyes searched the parameter for someone of relation to the girl.

"Um," The child struggled to tug her arm away from the woman, "they're over there! In that shop! I'll be on my way now, thank you very much." She jogged away from the crazy woman, who was now going on about something or another called a 'hippie' as she watched the child enter the shop.

The child looked around in amazement, trying to figure out what kind of shop this could possibly be. There were shelves upon shelves of large black discs she knew to be something that contained music from the times her father would dance with her as a child but, these were different. They had colorful sleeves with an assortment of artwork, each more unique than the next.

Felicia tried to imagine what kind of music they could possibly contain, but she had such limited knowledge of music that she couldn't even fathom a tune to match the eccentric covers. Mother had always hated music, especially music coming from these discs, and music was was never aloud outside of Feliciana's dance lessons. No matter how guilty Felicia felt, she couldn't help but want to know more about this muggle music.

"I'm gonna get one, Reg." A familiar voice declared smugly from behind her.

"No, you're not! Mum's mad enough. We shouldn't be here…"

"One day, I'm gonna have a whole box of 'em." Felicia towards towards the voices just as the taller boy looked up to reveal the face of Sirius Black. He had a bruise blossoming on his left cheek, and his eyes instantly narrowed upon noticing her scrutinizing it.

"Alright, Monroe?" He challenged.

"Just peachy, Black."

"Hmph." Sirius puffed out his chest, grabbing a hold of the wide eyed boy beside him and tugging him out of the shop.

At first, all she could think about was how much trouble she was going to get into when her mother found out she had been parading about in muggle shops but, Sirius wouldn't tell; He couldn't. Not without getting himself into trouble, and she doubted the reluctant boy tailing him would peep either. He looked much too afraid.

"_I'm an Alligator! I'm a mama papa comin' for you!"_

Felicia almost jumped right out of her skin as the loud noise blasted through the shop. A man at the counter slid one of the black discs into it's cover, nodding his head along to the peculiar tune.

"Excuse me, sir?" Felicia tried to sound polite, though she practically had to yell over the noise.

"Yeah, what can I help ya' with kid?" The shaggy haired man gave her a kind smile behind his round-rimmed glasses.

"What _is_ that?"

"This?" He gestured to the round disk spinning on the unusual contraption, "It's Bowie, Moonage Daydream."

"No," The girl rolled her eyes, "I mean, what is _that_." She pointed to the spinning disk.

"It's a record," He shrugged, giving Felicia a very confused look, "what are they teaching you kids these days?"

"Subjects far more important than silly muggle things." The girl whipped around, mumbling a snide remark at the oblivious man.

"What was that?"

"I said, '_Thank you sir!_'" She gave the man one last sickly-sweet smile before continuing on her way.

The girl spent the rest of the day exploring the city, venturing into numerous shops and trying to educate herself about all kinds of muggle contraptions. She couldn't help but be completely intrigued by their little inventions and the girl only felt ashamed by her interest for a brief moment before finding her favorite discovery; a Muggle bookshop, full of so much literature that she'd never even heard of.

Reading had been one of Feliciana's main pastimes since her tutor had first read her the tale of Babbity Rabbity. Though she, like most children, would have rather spent their childhood playing chase through the mansion's halls, her parents condemned anything considered fun by the youngest Monroe. So, she spent most of her time in the library, pronouncing large words wrong and spilling tea on one too many of her father's favorite novels.

While in the middle of inspecting a book about an oddly titled book with a child who had a lawyer for a father, she was rudely interrupted by the chime of the large clock in the middle of town. Felicia jumped, almost letting the book slip through her fingers, before checking her watch for the time. This time when she jumped, the book fell straight to to floor, the girl who once held it sprinting out of the shop as the woman behind the counter yelled after her.

It was six o'clock, meaning dinner in the Monroe house would be served in thirty minutes. Her mother had to know she was missing by now, and her father would be home from work at any minute. When she finally reached home, the small girl easily slipped over the garden gate and into the house, taking a seat in the sitting room as she attempted to catch her breath

"Young lady!" A hand grabbed the girl's upper arm, yanking her into a standing position.

"Just where have you been?!"

"Wha-what do you mean?" She panted out, looking into her mother's enraged face.

"I've been searching for hours! Just where were you?" Felicia's mother, like all mothers, was terrifying when she was angry.

"I was o-out."

"Out? Out where? Don't you _dare_ say that you were in that town!"

"I was in the garden mother! I swear!" The woman scrutinized her daughter, realising the girl from her deathly grip as she stared her down.

"And what were you doing in the garden?" She crossed her arms, obviously not convinced by her daughter's story.

"I- I was, um-"

"Darling," Felicia's father walked into the room, straightening his tie while wearing one of his most expensive sets of robes, "I heard yelling, is everything alright?"

"Oh, Felix. She's been missing all day and now she's insisting that she's been in the garden all this time!" Claudette all but pouted to her husband.

"I'm sure she was just playing, dear." He sighed, placing a hand on his wife's back, "Why don't you go get dressed? We need to be leaving soon."

"Where are you going?" Felicia gave her father a very confused look. Neither of her parents had said a single thing about going out tonight.

"We have a meeting, Feliciana, Ministry business." Felix smiled, giving his daughter a pat on the head as he left the room with his frazzled wife.

The child stayed seated in the library until she smelt the smoky scent of floo powder, over thinking all that had happened that day. Then, she ate her dinner alone and moved up to her room where she found a package on her bed. Inside was a simple jade and silver choker, definitely a gift from father.

Though the piece of jewelry was beautiful, she felt nothing for it. Before, when she got gifts such as these, she felt overjoyed and boisterous, and immediately went off to show them to the Black sisters. If anything, she should've felt guilty for going against her mother's wishes, but the thought of her outing only made her want to giggle with happiness.

While she was out, in the town, she felt so content. There was always something new and interesting with every corner she turned. It was nothing like the quiet days and nights spent in the mansion. She knew, though, that this was something that she had to keep to herself. Parading around in a filthy muggle town wasn't something to brag about at all and it definitely wasn't something to feel so elated about.

For a moment, Felicia found herself questioning all the reasons why it was wrong. The muggles seemed nice enough, no matter how daft they were and they had some of the coolest things. Just thinking of all the different types of music and literature made Ana's head spin, and she knew that this wouldn't be the last time she escaped for the day.

Hello! I'm so sorry for the late update!  
I don't have any excuse at all, I just completely forgot about this story...  
Though there's not a whole lot going on in this chapter at all, I hope you enjoy!  
Have a good week! xoxo


	7. Chapter 7

Night Moves  
Chapter 7  
1972

Claudette Ines Monroe was an older woman, and because she was older, she would like to think that she was a wise woman. In her life, Claudette had accomplished many things; a wonderful career within the Law branch of the Ministry, a loyal husband, and her status as one of the most influential, living pureblood women. It was odd though, that she'd never considered her only daughter as one of her great accomplishments.

When she'd married the young, orphaned heir of the Monroe family, her parents had expected the couple to immediately conceive a perfect grandchild to carry on their name, just as her brother Abraxas had done. Claudette wouldn't have had any trouble obliging, but it seemed as though the task was nearly impossible. It was a common rumor among witch's sewing circles that people with Monroe blood had trouble, ehm, _procreating_. This was a rumor that had been regarded by the young Claudette as nonsense until she reached the age of forty without bearing a single child.

Of course, this was most disappointing to the young woman's parents. They'd expected a Monroe grandchild just as precious as their little Lucius. She'd made up excuse after excuse, saying how she wanted to build a career, to fulfill something before becoming a mother. However, her career wasn't enough and her parents died, disappointed in Claudette for being the imperfectious child.

Though a part of her was relieved at her parent's untimely death, her incompetence to fulfill their last wish had ate away at the poor woman until she finally had her one and only daughter, Feliciana Marguerite Monroe. Her pregnancy had been such a joyous time and when the child was born, Claudette felt redeemed. Her debt has finally been repaid and could almost feel her parents smiling down on her, though it seemed as though they began scowling again as soon as their little granddaughter stood on her wobbly legs.

Claudette wasn't sure if her daughter was more peculiar than other children, but she always felt a sense of embarrassment around the child. Felicia was smaller and skinnier than others, grinning with her two front teeth missing and refusing to wear shoes. She loved to hum around the house, skipping with her wild hair bouncing all around until Claudette would yell for her daughter to quiet herself.

Felix so desperately wanted a son; someone to carry on the family name, but no matter how hard they tried, it seemed as though Felicia was the closest thing they would get to an heir. The man grew to love his daughter, excepting that she would be his only child and he ought to raise her properly. Felicia was all him anyways, with skin darker than his wife's and freckles dotting the apples of her cheeks.

So, he read her The Tales of Beedle The Bard, telling her all about the Fountain of Fortune, Babbity Rabbity, and The Hopping Pot, no matter how many times his wife insisted their daughter _needn't anymore nonsense in her head! _Felix was quite aware of the anxiousness his wife displayed around all things concerning their daughter, and decided that if anyone was to be the calm and comfort to their child, it would have to be him. _  
_  
It seemed as though all of Claudette's anxiousness had been justified when Walburga Black owled her, telling of how her youngest had admitted to seeing Feliciana in the very muggle town she was forbade from. The woman felt heat rise up in her cheeks, flowing down her neck and covering the rest of her body. Never had she felt so insulted and down right _disappointed _in her child. The woman didn't even stop to think of a just punishment before running down to her parlor, waiting for the girl's return.

In a way, she felt almost relieved that it was one of the Black boys who had seen Felicia in town and not someone else. Walburga wouldn't dare tell another soul that her boys had stepped foot in the filthy town, let alone seen the Monroe heir flouncing about the streets.

"Just where have you been?" Claudette stood, quickly rounding on the young girl as she entered the home.

"I was out, in the garden."

"Feliciana Marguerite Monroe, don't you dare lie to me!" The child jumped, looking quite terrified as her mothered seethed infront of her.

"I refuse to be lied to any longer," The blonde woman crossed her arms, "tell me where you've been."

"Mother, I would never lie to you." Felicia pleaded, watching as her mother's face stared her down with a frighteningly calm expression.

"Mother, please, I told you I was-"

_SMACK! _

The young girl was cut off by the sickening sound of flesh meeting flesh and a force causing her to stumble back, her shaking hands grasping her stinging cheek. For a moment, she was clueless as to what had happened but, when she saw her mother poised, holder her hand to twist her ring around to the right side, the girl knew that her mother had struck her.

"How dare you, Feliciana." Claudette said breathlessly, giving her daughter the most intense look, "How dare you lie to me."

"Mother…"

"You will _never _lie to me again, and you will stay away from that filthy muggle town!" The brunette took a step back for every word her mother yelled, "If you so much as _think_ about speaking word of this while you're at scool… Don't bother coming home."

Feliciana stared wide eyed at the woman until her vision went blurry with tears. Mother had never hit her before, and though she knew the woman was capable of it, she had never said something so cruel; not to her.

The next day, Felicia flooed to Kings Cross alone, and boarded the train with a blossoming bruise on her cheek. When Narcissa saw the girl, the pleasant smile slipped from her elegant features and she wordless pulled the girl into the train's bathroom, uselessly dabbing makeup onto the wound. No matter how many creams and powders the young woman tried, the scar left by her Claudette's ring was still noticeable, and she eventually accepted that there was nothing more she could do for her little friend.

The girl herself had sat wordlessly on the sink, eyes closed, forcing herself not to wince as Narcissa fussed over her. Finally, the prodding on her face stopped, and she opened her eyes to see her oldest friend, looking quite empathetic. Of course, being the proper, delicate lady that she was, the blonde had to force a smile that made her face look like cracked porcelain.

"Thank you for trying, Cissy," Felicia turned to look into the mirror behind her, "you did what you could. It's fine."

Narcissa's brow creased, her lip quivering as though she wanted to tug it between her teeth, though she refrained from doing so, knowing it would ruin her perfectly applied lipstick. Instead, she stared at her little friend's face in the mirror until the girl turned towards her. The older witch then leaned in and placed a small peck on the girl's bruised cheek, pulling back and smiling fully at the girl.

Felicia was mildly confused until she turned and saw the cherry colored lip-print right over her bruise and she couldn't help but grin back at her older friend, in awe of how clever the older girl could two then made their way out of the bathroom, and luckily found an empty compartment overlooking the platform. Felicia was silent, watching the elegant girl- no- woman stare out the window, the light giving her perfectly pale skin a glow.

"How does it feel, Cissy?"

"Excuse me, darling?" The blonde woman snapped out of her daze, giving Feliciana her full attention.

"How does it feel to be be so grown up? This is your last year, isn't it?"

"Mhm," She smiled fondly, "indeed it is."

"Are you going to miss it here?"

"Well," The older witch sighed, "I'll miss the people; I'll miss you, but I won't miss much else, I don't think."

"I understand," Felicia nodded, half-heartedly agreeing, though she nothing but dreaded the though of never returning to Hogwarts again, "though this is the end, your life is just beginning. It's a happy time."

"Indeed," Narcissa smiled warmly, "I've always been amazed by how intelligent you are for your age, Ana, it's quite a gift."

"Who were you watching on the platform?" Felicia asked quite bluntly, deterring the conversation away from Narcissa's constant fawning over the younger girl. Honestly, she seemed to boast about her more than her own mother; it could be quite embarrassing at times.

"Oh," a bit of color rushed to the blonde's cheeks as she glanced back out the window, "no one in particular, really."

"You were watching Lucius, weren't you?" The bushy haired girl followed the girl's eyes out to the blonde man standing on the platform, keeping to himself as he watched the families bustling around him.

"He's your cousin-"

"Lucius graduated last year," Felicia interrupted the older girl with a good bit of humor in her voice, "whatever could he be doing on platform nine and three quarters?" She gave the other girl a catty smirk.

"He, um, he wanted to see me off."

"Ohhh," Her smirk turned into a full grin, "my dear cousin is quite the gentleman, isn't he?"

"Well, uh-" Narcissa was saved from Felicia's teasing by the sound of the compartment door sliding open to reveal none other than Sirius Black, sporting a bruise very similar to the one Felicia had on her own cheek. Only, he seemed less worried about trying to cover it.

"Here," He shoved a shorter boy who almost looked familiar into the compartment, but she didn't look at him for long, as her eyes shifted back to Sirius, "it's not like you'd wanna hang around my _mudblood_ mates anyways." The boy spared Felicia one glance, looking as though he wanted to make a retort until his eyes lingered on her cheek. He swallowed, quickly averting his eyes before slamming the compartment door, hand moving to his own cheek as he slouched down the hallway to find his friends.

Felicia turned her attention towards the young boy her blonde friend had happily pulled down beside her, an overjoyed look on her face as she combed the black mass of hair away from the boy's eyes. By the lack of coloration on his tie, she could decipher that he was a first year, but exactly what he'd been doing with that scum and why he'd been shoved inside the girl's compartment was a completely mystery to the girl.

"Ana, I'm sure you remember Regulus? I've told you so much about him! Isn't he just adorable?" Cissy cooed over the younger boy like a newborn kitten as Feliciana could do nothing to stop the narrowing of her eyes as she stared him down.

This little snot was _Regulus Black,_ younger brother to none other than the pain in her arse. Hazel eyes quickly scrutinized every part of him, recognizing him as the boy she'd seen with Sirius that day in the muggle music shop, just as anxious looking as he'd been before. His pale complexion was free of bruises and scars, letting the wild haired girl know that he was _indeed_ the one who'd ratted her out.

"We've met before," She nodded as the first year squirmed under her gaze, "it's a _pleasure_ to see you again, Regulus."

Pale blue eyes widened at the sickly sweet smile on her face, letting the boy know that she hadn't forgotten him. The haphazardly covered bruise on her cheek made the boy feel nothing but guilt, his brother wore a similar mark and Regulus wasn't daft enough to believe his brother's excuses. Though he did feel sorry, the malicious aura came off the girl in waves and he couldn't help but be afraid of what she'd do to him.

"Likewise…" His voice was quiet, almost a whisper as he sunk down into the cushioned seat.

"Isn't he just too sweet?" The oldest of the three all but squealed, resisting the urge to pinch her cousin's rosey cheeks.

"Mhm," Feliciana's sweet smile seemed to widen, "what a _sweet _boy he is."

"I'm sure you two will be the best of friends, and you're only a year apart!" Narcissa clasped her hands in front of her, smiling excitedly, "You'll get to spent so much time together, you two!"

"Yes," Felicia seemed to all but purr, her eyes never leaving the pale boy seated across from her, "we'll be the best of friends, don't you think so Regulus?"

The poor boy could only gulp in response.

"Oh, look!" Narcissa all but jumped out of her seat, still bubbling with excitement, "That was Knott! I haven't spoken with him at all since term ended, if you'll excuse me I'd like to go catch up with him!"

Before her two juniors could reply, the witch was bouncing down the hall after the friend neither of the two had seen pass. As soon as the door slid closed, the smile slipped from the girl's face before she stood, towering over the slouching boy. Felicia took her time closing every curtain, blocking out the prying eyes of other students, speaking only when the last window was covered, her back turned to the first year.

"I know you ratted, _Black._" She turned to give the boy one of the nastiest looks she could muster, making her resemble the older Monroe woman "Don't think there won't be consequences for what you've done."

"I'm sorry…" Wide eyes stared up at the girl, eyes that only reminded her of one's so similar, only fueling her rage.

"Are you really?"

"I-I didn't know-"

"You know damn well how things work!" Felicia drew her wand at the younger student, and though Regulus knew that magic was forbade outside of Hogwarts, he wasn't quite sure how far the enraged girl would go to get revenge.

"Do you know nothing of loyalty? Nothing of fraternity?" She inched closer to him, her wand almost touching his button nose, "You little goody-two-shoes _brat!_"

The boy kept sliding further and further down into the plush seat of the train, almost hoping it would swallow him whole as she continued berating him with insults, hissing like an angry feline.

"Sniveling, snitching, _cowardly_ scum-!" Felicia's insults were cut short by the train lurching into motion, sending her tumbling onto the floor, Regulus following atop of her with a muffled, '_Oof!' _Their face were close, close enough to feel the other's breath on their lips, their noses bumping as wide eyes interlocked in a trance of embarrassment. Of course, that would be the most convenient time for Narcissa and her gossip group to strut into the compartment.

"Oh my," The blonde covered her mouth in shock, "_R-Regulus!"_ She all but yanked her cousin up by the collar, looking quite enraged but no less elegant as she scolded him.

"How dare you harass Feliciana in such a way! You're lucky the train is moving, otherwise, I'd send you moping back home this instance!" The invisible Knott boy seemed to appear out of no where, silently offering a hand to the frazzled Monroe hier as Narcissa continued on her tirade.

"Ana, darling, I'm so sorry!" The older witch hugged the younger girl, smoothing her hair in what was supposed to be a comforting manner, "He's not normally like this! Regulus is usually such a sweet boy! I just don't know what's gotten into him! Had I known he was so smitten with you I would've never left you two alone!"

The brunette sighed, ignoring Cissy's incessant rambling as she watched Avery and Mulciber drag a babbling Regulus off into another compartment. For a moment she regretted not attempting to explain the situation, but then her bruised cheek smushed against the older girl's bosom and the pain reminded her that the little snitch deserved whatever he got. 

* * *

_ohh boy, am I terrible at updating or what?  
This chapter is all over the place, and I apologize for that, hopefully the rest of second year is much more exciting!  
I've got a lot of cool stuff planned, stay tuned and stay safe! The weather has been crazy lately!  
A big thank you to those who reviewed~ Please keep it up, they mean so much to me!  
until next time,  
love minty  
xoxo_


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